Tony Aidoo Sues "Daily Guide"

Dr. Joe Tony Aidoo, former deputy Minister of Defence has sued the Editor and publishers of Daily Guide for libel.

He is claiming punitive and exemplary damages for defamation, consisting of libelous statements, which were contained in a series of articles, which appeared on the front pages of the daily Guide between October and November last year.

Dr. Tony Aidoo is also holding the paper liable for exposing him to public ridicule. He claimed the two publications, which appeared on October 22, 2003, and November 11, 2003, with the headlines ?JJ Gave Me The Pistol?, and ?Tony Aidoo Thrown Out of Ghana Law School?, had greatly injured his credit and reputation, thereby damaging his relationship with former President Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings.

Consequently, he has filed a writ at an Accra High Court, seeking an injunction to restrain the defendants (Daily Guide) each of them by themselves or by their servants or agents from publishing any damaging article about him. A copy of the writ, which was brought to the offices of Daily Guide indicates that the two separate publications were calculated to ruin the cordial relationship he has with the former President.

Besides, he claimed the publications were false, and were calculated to tarnish his image in the eyes of the general public, and to disparage him in the way of his office as a member of the national executive committee of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Further reacting to the publications, Dr. Aidoo claimed that he was not sacked from the Ghana School of Law, as the story portrayed. Again, his academic qualifications are not questionable, neither was he deported from the United Kingdom. Dr. Aidoo finally denied that he had ever been involved in any heated arguments with any lecturer at the Ghana School of Law, specifically the late Justice Kwame Afreh.

In a related development the National Guardian reports that a former Deputy Minister of Defence in the out-gone NDC Administration, Dr. Tony Aidoo, has filed a writ at the Supreme Court, claiming damages and other costs against the Ghana School of Law for what, he states is a breach of confidence by the school?s authorities reports the National Guardian.